Editorial: Walker should not wait to implement 'Obamacare'

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the heart and soul of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as "Obamacare," was a landmark judgment that was cheered by Democrats and left Republicans scrambling to spin the news.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker was quick to announce he has no plans to implement any of the features of the ACA, pointing to the presidential election in November as the reason he thinks Wisconsin must wait. While we are not surprised, it is disappointing that the bitter ideological battles continue, regardless of what the law and the Supreme Court of the United States say.

President Obama's legacy, in his first (and only?) term, will certainly be the ACA. The Supreme Court's landmark decision cemented the ACA as the cornerstone in the house that Obama has built.

Obama has been clear from the beginning, when he first pitched the idea of the ACA, that it is not a perfect piece of legislation. He welcomed ideas, input and tweaks to the massive, expensive endeavor, and he said he wanted to find solutions to a system that all agree is broken.

Early on, many Republicans dismissed the idea completely, and argued to leave the current system in place.

Today, those same Republicans openly admit a change is necessary, but as expected, they don't want government calling all the shots and paying all the bills.

Gov. Walker's "wait and see" approach to implementing the ACA is odd on a couple of levels. First, it assumes that Mitt Romney will win the White House in November, the Republicans will rule Congress and begin hacking away at the ACA. But you might remember, the minute after the ACA was first passed, Republicans came out firing, promising to repeal the law completely. That movement lasted all of about a month before it lost its political legs.

If Romney has the support to unseat Obama, and that is a big if, it doesn't mean the Supreme Court's decision goes away, and it doesn't mean Congress will suddenly have the votes to take down the ACA. Walker's quote at a news conference last Thursday is the ultimate example of sour grapes.

"While the court said (ACA) was legal, that doesn't make it right," Walker said.

While Walker and many others still might not think the ACA is "right" for Wisconsin, it is the law, and it is ridiculous to wait until the next election before beginning to follow the law.

Experts estimate there are 30 million uninsured Americans, who currently have no viable way to deal with major medical problems or even basic health care. Will the ACA be the solution for millions of uninsured Americans, or will the massive costs associated with the mandates cripple businesses and handcuff the economy? No one truly knows the answer, but it is time to enact the law across the land and tweak it as needed down the road.

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Editorial: Walker should not wait to implement 'Obamacare'

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the heart and soul of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as 'Obamacare,' was a landmark judgment that was cheered by Democrats and left

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